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'FlatOut 2' - v1.1 Euro Beta Patch Available NOW

Featuring an enhanced version of the originals lauded physics engine with even faster driving track designs, FlatOut 2 also boasts numerous improvements, enhancements and additions to make the title the definitive FlatOut experience. Twice as many vehicles, a more sophisticated career mode, additional race environments, double the number of tracks, twice as many mini-games along with brand new and much requested online multiplayer modes are just some of the exhaustive features that are included in FlatOut 2.

WARNING: This patch is BETA code, it is NOT officially supported by Bugbear Entertainment or Empire Interactive. The patch ONLY works with the European version and German version of FlatOut 2. It DOES NOT WORK with the North American version.

You may experience issues and bugs with this patch. Please report any issues you experience with this patch at http://forum.empireinteractive.com under FlatOut 2 Forum / FlatOut 2 PC PC gamers. Specify that you are running the BETA patch.

An official patch will be released soon when we have received feedback on the beta patch.

[1] INSTALLATION

Unzip all the files into the root of the installed folder (by default this is C:Program FilesEmpire InteractiveFlatOut2) and run the game as normal.

WARNING: If you experience any issues with the BETA patch, uninstall the full game then browse your installed folder (by default this is C:Program FilesEmpire InteractiveFlatOut2) and manually delete the following two files: patch & patch1.bfs

[2] NEW FEATURES

Voice chat added

Text chat added for the European version

Bandwidth detection, and adjustments to the network send bandwidth

Players are not disconnected if a race starts when they are not ready, instead they can wait in the lobby until the next race

Improved prediction of remote cars in multiplayer games

Simple cheat detection added for modified data and known hacks

The list of multiplayer games extended to show 100 games instead of 25

Only one kick vote can be initiated per race for the same player

Return to the list of multiplayer games when you exit the lobby and have previously been searching for a game

The draw distance for dynamic objects increased

Aspect ratio option added, widescreen support

Manual gearbox option added

Userdata added to network objects that can be used when making game modifications

New command line options added (see below, in COMMAND LINE OPTIONS)

[3] BUG FIXES

Fix for joining behind NAT devices

Fix for crash when refreshing the list of games

Fix for joining games that are just about to start

Fix for derby hang, when all other players disconnect before the derby starts

Fix for a hang when exiting the session at the same time as someone else is joining

Fix for the sorting of the list of multiplayer games. Now it sorts games in the lobby, with the games with least amount of players first

Fix for packet relaying between machines that cannot connect directly, now it uses bandwidth and latency for that

Fix for disconnects or crashes in stunt modes with low bandwidth

Fix for crash at the game start, just after the race has loaded

Fix for crash in races or derbies when more than one player gets disconnected at almost the same time

Fix for crash when searching for multiplayer games, and there's too many games in the list

Fix for a cheat where you are able to wreck the same player multiple times in derbies

Fix for time synchronization bug, when the PC clocks are running at different speed, caused the "No other players in the game" message to appear at the start of races

Longer timeout for joining, it was failing before due to timeouts in certain cases

Fix for the last character not appearing in the text chat for the North American version

Fix for text chat when the player names contains number for the North American version

Fixed a crash in the loading screen

Force feedback improved a bit

Fix for disappearing car in the desert town track

Fix for tournaments skipping races

Player details cannot be selected for players that are not fully connected

Fix for kicked players being able to join the same game again

Hardcoded 10% deadzone removed for steering wheels

[4] OUTSTANDING PROBLEMS

Black/White screen at the start of races. It's unsure if this is fixed or not, as an effect of some of the other fixes.

Sound issues with Creative sound cards. Use the WaveOut option in the game configuration to work around this problem.

Joins a game, either matching the matchname or the ip:port combination. If the game is a Gamespy game then the ip:port should be the public ports as registered on the Gamespy master server. If the game is a LAN game, then the ip:port combination could be any combination that would reach the host, preferably the private address on the same subnet. Matchname only works for Gamespy games.

-host

Creates a game on either the Gamespy master or on LAN, depending on whether the -lan parameter is specified. If a matchname is specified, the game will be joinable by a matching -join=matchname. Otherwise an ip:port combination has to be specified when joining. Matchname only works for Gamespy games.

-num_players

An optional parameter for -host=matchname. Normally when a game is created with that option it will not be publicly visible and joinable until one minute has expired. The only way to join it before that timeout is to specify -join=matchname. -num_players can make the timeout expire faster. If you specify this option, then the game will be publicly visible as soon as number_of_initial_players has joined
the game.

-lan

Specifies that you will join or create a LAN game instead of a Gamespy one.

-password

If this is specified, then only games that are created by a matching password will be visible and joinable. Games created when this option is set will be created with the password. The password option can be specified both when joining and creating from command line or when creating and joining the game normally.

-profilenr

Automatically selects a profile at game start. If the profile doesn't exist or is invalid, then the user has to choose the profile manually.

-public_addr

Can be used if you know your public address and port. Normally it shouldn't be necessary to specify this explicitly, but it can be used when joining LAN games, and port forward is enabled on the router, so that you know your public address. This option should be specified on LAN games, if the host is on the same subnet as a joiner and someone outside wants to join. Without this parameter the joiner inside the LAN and the joiner outside the LAN might not be able to communicate directly. Another case where this might be needed is if you have more than three IP addresses on the machine. This option is most useful for LAN games, as Gamespy games most likely will be able to connect anyway, however it might speed up the joining.

-private_addr

Forces the game to report this private address to other players. The game will automatically detect up to four IP addresses, but if you have more than that, then you might not be able to communicate with players on a subnet of an IP that isn't detected. Specifying -private_addr will force the game to put that IP first in the list. This option is most useful for LAN games, as Gamespy games most likely
will be able to connect anyway, however it might speed up the joining.

-join_timeout

Specifies the amount of time to try to join a game from command line. After this time expires, the user is given the option to retry or quit. The default is 30 seconds.

-join_retry

Specifies how often a new search will be done when joining a Gamespy game from the command line. The default is to do a search every 5 seconds. Dont set this option too small or it might overload the Gamespy servers.

-exportstats

Writes the game results of every multiplayer game into an xml file in the savegame folder.